The Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) has begun the Preparatory Meeting for the Development of a Manual on Harm Reduction for Religious Leaders. This meeting will be taking place from the 10th until the 12th of June at Le Commodore Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon. The meeting is composed of numerous Christian and Muslim leaders from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as well as the MENAHRA team.

The religious leaders include 14 participants from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia.

The main objective of this meeting is the development of a manual on harm reduction for communication with people who use drugs and their surrounding communities. The manual is aimed towards all religious leaders of the MENA region.

The Executive Director of MENAHRA, Mr. Elie Aaraj, opened the meeting by discussing the aims and goals of these three days. He also discussed the importance of harm reduction and the role of religious leaders on all the dimensions of harm reduction, including economics, public health, and the support of people who use drugs in attaining their rights. He also stressed the need to break the barriers and improve communication with people who use drugs.

The MENAHRA Network Coordinator, Ms. Micheline Abou Chrouch, presented a session in which the results of the initial Religious Leaders Meeting were discussed which included the Declaration that the group developed. The participants proposed ways in which to alter and adapt the Declaration further. The religious leaders also suggested points to create a workplan to be included in the manual.

Ms. Rana Haddad, the consultant who will be working on the manual in close collaboration with the religious leaders and the MENAHRA team, facilitated two sessions regarding the experiences of the participating religious leaders. These sessions included discussions regarding their personal experiences with people who use drugs and the surrounding society. They also discussed their furthered support of harm reduction.

The participating religious leaders also participated in the Support! Don’t Punish campaign by taking a group photo with the campaign poster in order to show their support for the rights of people who use drugs